


Until We Meet Again

by crowleylovesfridaynights



Category: Supernatural
Genre: High School, Human Castiel, Loss of Virginity, M/M, POV Dean Winchester, Shapeshifter, Teen Romance, Teenage Castiel/Teenage Dean Winchester, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-03-02 12:41:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2812349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crowleylovesfridaynights/pseuds/crowleylovesfridaynights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I know there is a Major Character Death, but just give it a chance, it ends much happier than you may think. :) I promise.<br/>Cas and Dean are in high school and meet for the first time.<br/>Could possibly be a precursor to the series. (In my mind at least ^_^ )</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I welcome any and all comments as long as they're not inappropriate, rude, or negative in any form. Criticism for the grammar or fluidity of the story is welcome. Also, please no arguing or anything crazy in the comments. And don't forget to kudos if you liked it! :) Have fun and enjoy!

     Dean Winchester looked down at his little brother Sam Winchester as they stepped out of their dad's '67 Impala. Dean chuckled and sarcastically said, "Okay Sammy, no getting in fights okay? I don't need to come bailing you out of the office." Sam rolled his eyes and started walking to the guidance counselor's office to get his class schedule. Dean sighed and said, "Okay Westmont High, let's make this year as quick as possible." He would never guess that later he'll be begging for it to be freshman year all over again. He looked up into the Seattle sky and it had a gray hue to it. He had heard rumors that it was a gray all of the time, but he thought it was a joke. Nope. He mentally thought, _"I'm calling this shade of gray Certain Suicide."_ He chuckled just before thoughts of his father, John, would be killing vampires, werewolves, djinn, and any other creature in a 100 mile radius. He sighed, knowing he'd be here at Westmont High for a while.

  
     Dean walked into homeroom and took a seat near the back by the windows. He sat his book bag in the desk next to him and as he looked around, he felt so alone. Everyone was catching up over the summer, complimenting each other on their "tans." He could tell that all of the tans are just spray tans. He chuckled and pulled up his sleeve and looked at his natural olive complexion. He suddenly felt appreciative for his dad's genes.

  
     Dean looked at the clock, 7:57. He sighed and reached into his book bag and pulled out a black spiral notebook and his favorite pencil. He kept the pencil for as long as he can remember. It was a mechanical pencil with Batman on it. The design itself had faded completely, but every now and then he'd find some acrylic paint lying around and he'd paint the design back on. It was nowhere close to the original, but something about the pencil kept him comforted as he moved around from school to school. Dean looked at the clock again, 7:59. He watched as Mr. Owe-A-Dollar, or so it sounded like, get up to close the door until a boy pushed through the door apologizing to the teacher. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I had trouble finding my locker. It's on the other side of the school and I had to-" He was what Dean would call a nerd. He wore glasses, this khaki trench coat, slacks, and… Dear God… Is he wearing dress shoes? Dean marveled at his Jet black hair. It was spiked and styled in a way that put his to shame. "Yes, Mr. Novak is it? I hadn't started yet, but tardiness isn't allowed in my classroom. Either you show up on time or you don't show up at all and it's considered skipping." The kid looked down at the ground and back up to the teacher, "Yessir." "Good. Now take a seat. I believe the only one available is in the back there near the windows." And he pointed to the seat next to Dean. Dean rolled his eyes and moved his book bag to the floor next to him.

  
     The kid came and sat down next to him, and turned to smile at him, "Hi. I'm Castiel. But people call me Cas for short." Dean gave a small grin and replied, "I'm Dean. Sometimes people call me Batman." Cas giggled, "Batman? Are you a superhero?" his voice filled with awe. "Something like that," and Cas turned back towards the front as Mr. Teacher started explaining the rules and such of the school.

  
     The bell rang, time for second period. Dean looked at his schedule and groaned, "God I hate English. What the fu? AP ENGLISH?! …..Oh God." Cas beside him giggled, "Do you have Smith?" Dean looked at it and found the teacher - H. Smith. "Uh, yeah. How'd you know?" Cas showed Dean his schedule, "Because I have it too! At least we'll know each other and can suffer as a team. That is if you want to be friends." Dean looked at this kid for a moment, "Maybe. Let's just see how the first week goes before we start braiding each other's hair."

  
     Cas giggled, "Okay Dean. Deal. I think I saw her classroom on the way here. I'm not sure where it was though."

     Dean was confused, "Wait, you don't know? It's your senior year and you don't know where the classrooms are?"

     Cas' gaze dropped to his book bag as he was about to put it on to leave to room, "I'm a transfer. It's my first day here."

     Dean felt stupid, but now they had something in common besides amazing hair. "Oh. Me too actually. I transferred here from Arizona."

     Cas' eyes went wide as he flung his book bag onto his back, "Oh my GOODNESS. That's why you're SO tan! I just transferred from a different school district. I'm actually from the west side of Seattle."

     Dean smiled at him as they walked out the door. Dean saw his eyes. How had he not noticed them before? They were blue, not like a beautiful blue sky that he probably wouldn't see again for the next year, or like the ocean blue. He couldn't help but gaze into his eyes. They were gorgeous. It reminded him of sapphires. They were a dark blue, like the bottom of the ocean blue, or the sky at sunset.

     Cas giggled, "I get it a lot. I promise you can look more later, but we need to get to class."

     Dean broke his gaze and slightly shook his head, "Yeah. Sorry. I just - wow!"

     Cas smiled and held his books tighter to his chest, "You have green eyes like I've never seen before. I'm sure you get a lot of compliments as well."

     Dean looked down at his necklace and thought. He had only heard it from one person, his mom. Dean shook his head as he weaved with Cas through the crowd, "No, the only person who ever told me I had good looking eyes was my mom. " Dean hung his head and continued, "She's dead. She died when I was four, and my brother, Sam, was only 6 months old."

     Cas grabbed Dean's wrist, and it took him by surprise, "I'm so sorry Dean. I-"

     "It's okay." Dean shrugged Cas off of his sleeve, "It's been 13 years now. I miss her of course, but nothing I do can bring her back. So there's no point being sad over it. She would have wanted me happy anyways."

     Cas gave a small grin as they walked into Smith's classroom, "Well Dean, I think you have very gorgeous eyes."

     Dean couldn't help but smile, somehow he managed to befriend the biggest nerd in the school, and he didn't mind one bit. "Thank you, but you have to tell me how you get your hair to do that." And he smiled as Cas' shoes squeaked over the newly polished floor of the classroom. Cas smiled and said, "Deal. I'll tell you after school if you like."

     Dean frowned, "I can't stay after. I have to get my little brother home, and make sure he gets his homework done, actually takes a shower, yadda yadda."

     Cas frowned in returned, but then smiled, "Sure. No problem. I'll always see you tomorrow in homeroom and in here."

     Dean gave a small smile in return and quietly said, "I have no choice. But can you do me a favor?"

     Cas gave a cautious look, "what?"

     Dean laughed, "Jeans dude. And Converses or something other than dress shoes, you're not at a job interview."

     Cas blushed, "Oh. Yeah, I guess I over killed it."

     Dean chuckled, but Cas got extremely worried, "Can I at least keep the coat?"

     Dean looked him from top to bottom as Smith shut the door, "Yeah. Keep the coat. It suits you." Cas smiled and pulled out his folder and pencil, ready for class to be over with, he heard cheeseburgers were on the menu today.


	2. Chapter 2

     Dean stood outside of the school holding his binder looking around nervously. He glances down at his binder at his list of homework. He looked at it with relief and regret since he probably would be helping Sam with his, and won't even have any time for his own. He saw Cas bound down the school steps and he stopped right in front of him, "Hey Dean, I know you can't stay, and that's fine. But here." Cas handed him a couple pages of hand written - notes?

     Dean looked at him with a confused smirk and say, "Um?"

     Cas snickers, "You fell asleep in English."

     Dean widened his eyes and stared at Cas in disbelief, "Seriously? I didn't even notice."

     Cas smiles and says as he begins walking away, "I'll see you tomorrow. Make sure you get your homework done! The partner work starts tomorrow."

     Dean frowned, "Uh, yeah. Okay."

     Dean sighed and looked at the stairs. There was Sam, angrily coming down the steps. He was fuming as if someone kicked his puppy. Dean can see the rage Sam is experiencing. His whole face is red, and so blinded by fear he trips twice over his own shoes. Sam tries to march right past him and on his way to the hotel. Dean grabs him by the handle of his book bag and says, "Come on, man. Talk it out. Who's ass am I kicking?"

     Sam shakes Dean off of him and says, "First day of school Dean. It's the first freaking day and I have homework in every single class. I have a paper due tomorrow, a 5 page paper! How am I supposed to do that along with Trig function homework, read Romeo and Juliet, and somehow manage to catch up on what happened during the World Wars!"

     Dean sighed and they begin walking down the sidewalk towards the motel, "Like we always do. Your AP classes aren't a joke. I somehow got put into AP English, and apparently I have to read 'The Odeesee' and we have to create a presentation tomorrow. The story itself is like a thousand pages long."

     Sam groaned, "It's 'The Odyssey' How do you not know this?" and he shakes his head at Dean.

     Dean was caught off guard, "I was just testing you."

     Sam rolled his eyes and helplessly said, "I'm going to fail."

     Dean laughed and said, "Um, no. Both of us can't fail. Dad will have our asses for that."

     Sam glared at Dean and said, "Then what do you suggest so that we get this all done?"

     Dean said, "We could always make it a movie night. And for the paper, you think and I'll type. I have never heard of Triangle functions-"

     Sam glared at him again, "-TRIG functions."

     Dean rolled his eyes, "TRIG functions. And we'll both be ready for tomorrow for a change. Are you hungry?"

     Sam looked down at his stomach and said, "Starving. How much did Dad leave you?" Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue credit card, "Three thousand. But it has to last the next two months, including the motel, so, roughly a thousand after that, and then five hundred if we split it in two."

     Sam was amused, "What'd you have to do to get dad to leave you that much?"

     Dean looked sideways at him, "I have to abide by a very strict set of rules."

     Sam sighed, "We always do."

     Dean sighed as well, "That and I asked if we could actually get a nicer hotel since we're staying for a while."

     Sam cheered, "Oh thank god. I want to take a bubble bath in a tub I'm not scared of."

     Dean stopped walking and said, "Bubble bath? Do I need to go get you some Celine Dion CDs and a bottle of wine so you can watch The Notebook?"

     Sam glared at Dean and said, "Only if you get the bubbles just right."

     They both laughed as they walked into the lobby of the Hampton Inn.

     Dean strode up to the counter with a smile, "Hello." The receptionist greeted him warmly, "Well hello! How can I help you today?" Dean sat his book bag down and said, "My dad, uh Jim Kornegay, he booked us a room for a little while. He said that it should be reserved and everything, that we just need to give you his credit card for confirmation."

     The receptionist smiled warmly and took the card from Dean. She did some typing into the computer and Sam stood there, barely tall enough to sit his chin on the counter. Dean laughed quietly to himself and thought _"Jeez, I guess I will be his BIG brother after all. I suppose he'll be short forever. Poor kid."_

     The receptionist looked up and smiled, "Brothers?" Sam removed his chin from the counter and looked at her and quietly said, "Yep." The receptionist smiled and continued punching numbers. Dean looked around the room and saw a giant stuffed moose head on the wall. He chuckled and touched Sam's arm. Sam looked up at him, "What?" Dean laughed and pointed at the moose and said, "That's you, Sammy." Sam glared at Dean and looked around the room and frowned, "Well, they don't have a stuffed cow around here. Too bad, it'd look just like you." Dean glared at Sam and resisted the urge to put him in a headlock. He chuckled and continued looking around.

     In a room across from the lobby; Dean saw a small room with a vending machine. He dug into his pocket and pulled out two dollars. He handed them to Sam and pointed to the machine. Sam grinned and took the money. The receptionist handed the card back to Dean and said, "Everything checks out. You'll be in room 234. How many room keys would you like?" Dean slid the credit card back into his wallet and said, "Three, please." "Certainly!" she cheerfully replied.

     As he waited, he turned around and saw a sad Sam holding the two one dollar bills, "What?" Sam looked up at him, "It's out of order." Dean rolled his eyes, "Of course. Okay, we'll go up to the room, put our stuff in there and we'll go to that Burger King we passed."

     Sam looked up at him and nodded. Dean turned to the receptionist and took the keys, and they headed up the elevator and set their things down. Dean went in the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face before they headed out. He looked at himself in the mirror and saw the worry lines that creased his forehead, the thickening of his peach fuzz, and the bags under his eyes. He looked at himself in the mirror and wondered if he would have all of these blemishes if mom was still alive, and didn't know things went bump in the night. Would he still look like a mess if his dad didn't get drunk and beat him because he or Sammy did something wrong? He looked into his vibrant green eyes and thought about how Cas looked into those same eyes with awe. He slightly blushed and thought about how vibrant his eyes were too. And he found it quite ironic that his eye color was the perfect shade of blue. It was his favorite color.

     The walk to Burger King was a loud one. They were telling jokes back and forth, not caring whether they've heard it before or not. Most of Sam's jokes weren't even funny or made sense, but Dean laughed anyway. Sam liked to be funny and he loved to laugh. So Dean told his best jokes, trying to get Sam in a good mood for the mountain of homework that lied ahead.

     Sam got the usual, a salad with a chicken sandwich, and Dean got 5 or 6 small bacon cheeseburgers. He couldn't remember how many he ordered. They sat down in their dining room and couldn't help but think how much the place needed an upgrade. Dean took a bite out of his burger and moaned slightly, it was good. It was a crappy atmosphere, but the food was great. Sam stared at Dean as he devoured the burger. Dean opened up the second burger and moaned as he took another bite. Sam continued to stare. Dean met his stare and said, "What? Eat your rabbit food." And he took another bite. Sam stirred in his dressing and said, "I will, but if you need a few minutes alone with your food..." Dean chuckled and said, "Oh yes please." Sam scoffed and was genuinely disgusted, "Gross! I hope I never see you do anything like that."

     Dean smiled as he watched Sammy read the tray liner and eat his salad. While he may hate not being able to grow up like a normal teenager, with a home and both parents, he's happy he's got his brother. He may have to wake up every other night and stay up with Sam because he thought he heard a werewolf or saw a spirit, and he only receives harsh criticism from his father and obviously nothing from his mother. He is always moving around from school to school where the teachers always think he's a failure, and never makes any really close friends because he would be gone in a couple of months anyways. However, in the end, he couldn't imagine himself being happy any other way.


	3. Chapter 3

     Dean groaned as he dropped his book bag beside his desk and slid into it. He laid his head sloppily on his desk and flung his arms over his head, trying to block out any light. He had 15 minutes until homeroom started; maybe he could get a nap.

  
     Dean was awoken by someone poking his shoulder. "Mmm," he groaned and adjusted in his seat a little and attempted to go back to sleep. The person poked again. Dean shifted his arms so he could see the person's shoes. Dark red converses and black skinny jeans. He slowly moved his gaze up the legs and he moved his arms and with a seductive tone he began, "Well hello th-" He abruptly stopped as he saw the face. Converses? Skinny Jeans? Solid white t-shirt? Spiky black hair? A black trench coat and vivid blue eyes? Oh shit. It's.. "CAS?!" he exclaimed.

  
     Cas gave him a small smile and sat in the desk next to him. Dean just stared. The punk persona looked great on his slim figure. Dean kept staring and thought to himself, _"How could he be wearing things so simple yet make it look so sexy..? Oh god. Did I just call him sexy? I don't.. I like girls. But dear god, he looks like a young and nerdy Pete Wentz!"_

  
     Cas looked over at him and flashed him a pearly white smile, "I'm sure this isn't what you had in mind, but I tried out different looks last night and I like this one the best. But do NOT expect me to wear eyeliner." Dean's mouth was slightly open, "N-No. No. It's perfect."

     Dean turned back in his seat and faced the front. A girl turned around in front of Dean and flashed him a seductive smile, "Hi. I'm Anna." Dean must be dreaming. She has fiery red hair styled into perfect ringlets, a cute round face, hazel eyes and she's wearing a pink lip gloss. His eyes traveled down further and admired her… "assets."

     He grinned at her, "Well hello, Anna. I'm Dean." She flipped her hair and gave him a big smile, "Can I ask a favor?" Dean smiled and leaned forward in his seat, "Depends on what it is, beautiful."

     Anna began to blush, "I just need to borrow a pencil."

     Dean's smile faltered, "Uh, sure." And he reached into his bag and pulled out a plain pencil. He doesn't let anyone use his Batman pencil, not even Sam. He gave a small smile as he gave it to her. She smiled at him and hurriedly said, "Thanks!" and she turned around and scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to the guy sitting next to her. Dean frowned as she handed his pencil back.

     "Wow," Cas mumbled.

     Dean turned to Cas and replies, "What?"

     Cas pressed his lips together and shook his head, "Nothing."

     Dean looked at him and looked around, "Um. Okay."

     Cas didn't speak to him for the rest of the day unless it was about their project in English. Dean felt like he had done something wrong, yet he hadn't. He just shrugged it off and figured maybe his family didn't approve of his new look or something. Dean sighed. He didn't need his only friend upset at him. He grabbed Cas' arm as they were about to leave Smith's English class and he looked Cas in his beautiful blue eyes and said, "Cas. I don't want you upset. You're my friend. And I uh," he dropped Cas' arm, "I-I think you have gorgeous eyes too."

     Cas' smile beamed through the room, "Thank you Dean. And may I ask you a question? But if I ask this question, I don't want you taking it the wrong way."

     Dean shrugged and said, "Okay."

     Cas waited for everyone to start filing out of the room until they followed. Cas quietly asked, "Are you straight?"

     Dean blushed hard, "Yes Cas. Yes I am. Straight as a ruler."

     Cas began to blush and he looked at his feet, "Okay. I was just wondering."

     Dean was feeling curious now. He touched Cas' arm and said, "Well, what about you?"

     Cas was as red as his shoes, "Bi."

     Dean raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had no idea, "Hey, that's cool man. No judgment."

     Cas let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, "Thanks. I didn't want to tell you to be honest."

     Dean looked puzzled. Why wouldn't he want to- "Oh. You thought I'd assume that you.."

     Cas looked at his shoes again and was still red, "Yeah."

     Dean looked at him and Cas leaned against the lockers. Dean playfully put his hand on the lockers and leaned on it, getting in Cas' space, "So why are you blushing so hard if you don't think I'm cute?"

     Dean couldn't believe it, but Cas turned even more red. Dean found this quite amusing. He didn't like playing with his new friend's hormones, but it was cute to see him squirm. Dean said to himself, _"He's actually pretty cute when he's nervous. God, why do I keep saying he's cute?! Am I bi? Could I get down on my knees and blow him right here when everyone goes to class? Unbutton his pants ever so slightly and rub the bulge underneath - Oh god. I can actually see myself doing that. Could-Could I kiss him? …..Yeah."_

     Dean pictures the idea, and it doesn't seem like anything 'disgusting' to him. The idea seemed foreign, kissing another boy, but he shocked himself when he realized he wanted to kiss him. He had never felt this way about another GUY before. But Cas, oh he's different. He could see himself tenderly kissing Cas, kissing his jaw, lightly licking his lips in a tease, then biting his lip as he reached down and-

     Cas stuttered cutting off Dean's thoughts, "B-B-Because m-maybe I d-do."

     Dean smiled a seductive smile and watched the last person slip into a classroom and shut the door. They were the only ones in the hallway, all alone. Dean leaned in close to his face. Cas' breath hitched and Dean put his lips to his ear, "Maybe I'm straight, maybe I'm not. Either way, I want to do things to you that you can't imagine."

     Cas trembled with desire beneath Dean as he reached forward and took a hold of Dean's leather jacket. Cas leaned forward and was only inches from Dean's lips, but at the same time it felt like he was a whole universe away. He wanted Dean too. He couldn't explain why either. He just wanted to-

     "WINCHESTER!" came a stern voice from the end of the hall. Cas jerked his hand off of his jacket and down beside his leg. "Shit," Dean whispered, suddenly aware of the light pressure in his jeans. He stepped away from Cas and the teacher walked down the empty hall towards them. "Why aren't you two in class? And are you bullying this poor kid here?"

     They both rolled their eyes and Dean got an attitude, "Ma'am. I'm not trying to be rude or funny, but why would I bully the new kid when I'm the new kid too?" The teacher was quiet. She spoke after a few seconds, "Either way, you two are skipping class. Detention for both of you, and I feel like I'll see a lot more of you two after school this year as well."

     Dean sighed angrily and said to the teacher, "Fine, but a message needs to get to Sam Winchester to go home without me. That I have detention."

     The teacher studied Dean for a moment and looked to Cas who was still against the lockers, and noticed he had a slight bulge in his jeans. She raised an eyebrow, "Very well then. Detention from 3 - 5pm."

     Cas and Dean both nodded and said, "yes ma'am" in unison. Like any normal people, they turned and looked at each other with wonder as they felt like 3rd graders at how cool that was.

     The teacher walked away and Dean turned to a pale Cas with a voice as smooth as silk, "Jeez Cas," he ran a finger along Cas' jaw line, "You got me in trouble. Looks like I'll have to punish YOU later as well." And Dean lightly traced Cas' lips with his finger. Dean gave a seductive smile and grabbed Cas' hand. Cas slightly smiled and his eyes went wide as Dean started playing with the tip of his middle finger, slowly rubbing the tip in circles.

     Cas blushed a deep red again and Dean chuckled. Cas mumbled, "Yeah, you're as straight as a slinky." They both howled in laughter, and then hushed quickly for fear that a teacher may step in the hallway and catch them again.

     Dean couldn't explain why for the first time in his life, he was attracted to a boy, yet all he wanted to do was hold him, kiss him, tease him, and be anything he needs. Dean gave Cas a smile and said, "See you later." Cas smiled in return and said in a sing song tone, "See you in detention." Dean turned from Cas and headed down the hall and started walking towards his class. He could feel the heat start to build in his cheeks as he thought of how much he had begun to like Cas despite not knowing hardly a thing about him. He's going to change that. They may be moving fast, but Dean didn't care. He liked to live dangerously anyways.


	4. Chapter 4

# 

             _Dean sat down at a table with a slim silver pole in the center of it. He smiled as a girl walked up to this table. She was sexy, long black curls, pale blue eyes, a smile that could start wars, and a rack that could stop said wars. She was wearing all leather. He felt pressure in his jeans and he leaned back in his chair. She had pale white skin that reminded him of vanilla ice cream and boy did he want to have a taste. He grinned as she practically floated on top of the table. She twirled around the pole a few times before leaning down to push her breasts in his face. He lost control of himself and kissed her. She kissed him back with such a primal instinct. They were breathing into each other's mouths and he grabbed her hair with one of his hands and she let out a pained moan. Dean moaned into her mouth and pulled her into his lap so she was straddling him. She ran her hand down his hand and further down to the bulge in his jeans. He closed his eyes and moaned as she groped. Her fingers slid underneath the hem of his shirt and Dean hungrily tongued her mouth and rocked her back and forth over his lap. She threw her head back and moaned. Dean blindly leaned forward and kissed the bare skin of her breasts and looked up into her eyes. They flashed a vibrant blue, and then returned to their pale blue. Dean looked into her eyes a moment longer and nothing happened. He shrugged it off as she kept touching him and rocking against him. He moaned as she leaned down and kissed his neck, and he grabbed her hair again. It was silky and short. His eyes fluttered open for a moment and saw it was straight and pulled her hair a bit harder. She began to kiss him again and she playfully bit his lip and said, "Oh Dean." in a deeper voice. Dean's eyes popped wide open and-_

            "Cas?!" Dean shouted as he sat straight up in bed as the cheap alarm clock beside him was blaring. **Beep beep beep beep.** Dean leaned over and shut it off. He pushed his boner between his legs and looked over to Sam, he was still asleep. Dean groaned as he buried his face in his hands. He rubbed his temples with his thumbs and sighed. _"Why would I dream of Cas like that? Yes, he's attractive, but god damn I just met the guy. Is it possible I've been bi the entire time, and he's just the first guy that I've actually liked like that?"_ He thought back as far as he could remember, he never minded watching gay porn even though hentai was his favorite, he liked this one guy when he was in 7th grade, but nothing more than just holding hands because it was only 7th grade. He raised an eyebrow to his own thoughts.

            Dean stumbled out of bed and walked to the bathroom wearing a solid gray tank top and fleece plaid pajama pants. He yawned as his hand slapped the wall searching for the light switch. After a grunt over hitting his hand on the towel bar, he found it and braced himself for the bright light that would only hurt his eyes. He went pee and got ready to wash his face. He lathered soap onto a wash cloth and began to scrub his face. He worked his way down from his forehead, down to his neck. He paused as he touched the left side of his neck where the stripper/Cas in his dream has kissed him. He felt electricity as he spread soap over his neck. He shuddered with ecstasy as the images played through his mind. He took a deep breath and cleared his head and scrubbed his neck and face a little harder to get rid of the feeling.

            Dean walked back into the room after changing into his clothes for school and gathered his and Sam's homework together. He stood next to Sam's bed and sighed then smiled as he looked so peaceful. Dean hated to wake him up since he's getting a good night's rest for once. He glanced over at the clock, 6:45. He had to; he let him sleep in as much as he could. He leaned over and nudged Sam's shoulder, "Sammy." Sam groaned and rolled over, facing the wall. "Sam. Come on, time to get up." Sam's eyes fluttered open and he turned to face Dean, "But sleep… good… pillow." And he reached out and grabbed the pillow next to him and hugged it, then proceeded to fall back asleep. Dean smiled at how cute and innocent that was, but he still needed to get up. He took the pillow from a sleeping Sam and shook his shoulder again, "Sam. Get up. Now." Sam opened his eyes and groaned, "Fine. Fine. I'm up." And he slowly sat up and Dean saw he was wearing his Robin shirt. Dean smirked at it, _"Yeah, he's my brother and my little sidekick."_ Dean looked at Sam, "Are you up?" Sam looked sleepily at Dean, "Yeah." And he swung his legs over the side of the bed. Dean held the pillow to Sam, "Here's your girlfriend back. You two were cuddling pretty intensely." Sam took the pillow and looked at it, confused.

            Sam grabbed his clothes and headed to the bathroom to get dressed and wash his face, and Dean left the room and headed to the attached restaurant for breakfast. The receptionist yesterday said something about complimentary breakfast every day from 5-9am. On the way there, he thought back to the afternoon before during "detention." He and Cas were to write "I will not skip class." 500 times. They raced to see who could finish first. Cas won. After all, he had practice by actually taking notes, they had finished that task around 3:30. Then they had to scrape gum off of the bottom of ALL of the desks and chairs. Again, they competed to see who could get the most points. Desks counted as two (since they had more gum on them) and chairs as one. If it didn't have any gum on it, it didn't count. Dean won that one. 397 to 245. Dean tackled all of the chairs since they were easier and usually had less gum. He scraped a lot faster than Cas and got the desks Cas hadn't. They barely talked since the teacher was watching them and wouldn't let them since "they had plenty of time to talk in the hallway during class." At 5, when they were released, Cas had surprised Dean with a hug. Dean was shocked, but he put his arms around Cas and hugged him back. It felt good to be hugged. He would never admit that to anyone, but he liked being around Cas. He couldn't exactly explain why, it wasn't 'love at first sight,' but it was something.

            Dean walked up to the line of people waiting for breakfast, and when he approached the buffet, he took two take out trays and loaded them up with eggs, bacon, a couple pancakes, syrup packs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, little slices of ham, extra bacon, and these little fried round things, and a couple of biscuits. He closed the trays and set them on top of each other and walked over to the drinks. He grabbed a couple of Styrofoam cups and got some coffee. He left his black, and put just a little of sugar and cream in Sam's, just how he likes it. He somehow managed to juggle the two Styrofoam tray boxes and two cups of coffee and got his key out and opened the door to the room, and walked inside letting the door shut after him.

            Sam was sitting on his bed looking back over his math homework. Dean unloaded the breakfast on the table and looked at the clock, 7:00. They had time. They sat at the table and devoured the food. Sam laughed when Dean opened his tray, "I see you barely got any bacon." Dean looked down at his tray and he had a huge heaping pile of it. It looked like a little more than a pound of bacon. He looked over at Sam's who only had two pieces. He frowned and grabbed a few pieces and put them on Sam's tray. "I got carried away." Sam rolled his eyes, "you always do." Dean looked down at the overflowing tray and thought to himself, _"Jeez. I guess that dream got to me more than I thought. It was nothing. Just a dream."_

            Dean folded the lid back over on his tray and pushed it aside, then turned to look at the wall, "I'm not hungry. I'll save it for later." Sam put his coffee down and said, "Dean Winchester is not hungry?" He cocked his head to one side and stared at Dean, "Are you depressed? Do I need to call dad?" Dean whipped his head back around and sharply said, "No. Weird dream, ok?" Sam picked his coffee back up and said, "Okay, whatever you say." Dean stood up and put the rest of his breakfast in the mini fridge and grabbed Sam's homework and carefully placed it into his binder and shoved it in his book bag. Sam quickly finished his breakfast, gulped down the coffee, and snatched his book bag from his bed, "We're going to be late!" And he tugged on Dean's leather coat to hurry him along. Dean sighed and grabbed his book bag and threw a strap onto his shoulder. He double checked the room to make sure nothing had been left out that would surely get them kicked out. Pentagrams, guns, knives, the usual type of thing that makes people on edge were tucked away in his duffel bag. John had always assured Dean that he'd make sure no monsters ever came to the hotel to use them against John, but John's word was only as good as his actions. While they jogged down the halls and walked fast to school, Dean thought of the seven different times anything supernatural had come after them while John was off on a job.

            _The very first one was a vampire. Dean was almost 9 years old. He happened to wake up in the middle of the night and saw a dark shadow hanging over Sam's bed. He jumped up and out of bed in one single leap. The dark shape stood up and walked over into the light that came spilling out of the bathroom. It was a female, in her early twenties, stringy blonde hair with platinum highlights, heavy eye makeup that was smeared and faded, worn clothes that only a hipster would wear. He saw there were thin trails of dark red on either sides of her mouth. Blood._

            Sam and Dean were almost at the school, and Dean saw the buses out front dropping the other kids off. They looked about as happy as he was to be there.

            _She slowly opened her mouth and Dean backed up against the closet door, her fangs showed through past her red lipstick, and Dean stopped breathing and swallowed. She began slowly walking towards him and she barred her fangs at him and hissed, "Your daddy will get the message to leave our nest alone when he comes back and finds his children all over the walls! He killed two of MY children, now I have the pleasure of killing two of his." She took another step closer. She was only about three feet away from him. Dean swallowed, "My dad WILL kill you. Killing us will make it more painful and slow for you."_

            Dean slid into his desk in homeroom and pulled out his Batman pencil and a couple sheets of paper and began doodling random shapes as the memories flooded back over him.

            _Dean took a shaky breath as the vampire readied her stance to pounce on Dean and rip his throat out. He closed his eyes and turned his head and braced himself for death._

_A gunshot_

_Another_

_Two more._

_Dean opened his eyes and saw the vampire turn around. There were four holes in the vampire's back and a trembling scared Sam holding a smoking gun. The vampire slowly brought her arm back, "You think that'll hurt me?" in one fluid motion, Dean threw open the closet door and reached into his duffel and pulled out the machete, "You little" Dean unsheathed the machete and lunged forward, jumping on the bed to gain height, "insignificant human shit. You'll pay-" and Dean cleanly sliced her head off. Little Sammy shook as he fell to his knees, seeing blood all over the floor and the wall beside him. Dean jumped off the bed and kicked the head a few feet further away from Sam._

_Dean took Sam into his arms and patted his hair while Sam sobbed into his chest, "It's okay Sammy. I've got you. It's over. You're safe. I'm your big brother, I'll always protect you." Dean said this over and over as Sam sobbed into his chest._

_After about an hour of sitting on the floor like this, Dean calmly said to Sam, "Did she bite you?"_

_Sam looked up at him with worry and fear, "Will I turn into her?"_

_Dean shook his head, "No. You have to drink her blood. Sam, you have to tell me. Did she bite you or put any blood in your mouth?!?!"_

_Sam cried and shook his head. Dean sighed out of relief and gripped his little brother close to his chest and they sat like that until after the sun came up._

            **"Dean."**

            _They both jumped at the sound of the doorknob rattling, Dean grabbed the machete and they hid behind Sam's bed since it was the furthest. Dean pushed Sam under the bed and Dean peaked up over the side, and saw their dad rush in. He stopped as soon as he saw the crumpled body and the head on the floor, "BOYS?!"_

_Dean poked his head up, "We're okay." He looked under the bed, "Come on Sammy, it's dad."_

            **"Dean!"**

            _"Why didn't you call me?! Why didn't you let me know something was after you?!" John's voice boomed through the tiny room._

_Dean's voice quivered as Sam stood up beside Dean, taking his hand, "It just happened so fast Dad. I was worried about making sure Sammy was okay."_

_"AND THAT'S WHY YOU CALL ME SO I CAN MAKE SURE NOTHING ELSE COMES HERE, GOT IT?!" John shrieked as he stomped over to Dean. John shoved Sam away from Dean and pushed Dean into the corner, "WHAT is our NUMBER ONE RULE?"_

_Dean shook as he looked into his father's eyes, "Protect Sam."_

_"WHAT is rule NUMBER TWO?"_

_"Shoot first, ask questions later." He saw where his father was going with this._

_"AND WHAT DO YOU DO AFTERWARDS?!" his voice became a little hoarse from the yelling._

_"Call you and report what happened."_

_"EXACTLY! You two could have died! You'll learn to respect me and listen to my orders!" and he brought his arm back in a horrifyingly same manner the vampire did. Dean turned to look at Sam who only looked at him with such a depressed and horrified look. Dean smiled at his little brother, proud that only a 5 and a half year old shot a vampire. And he was proud of himself for killing the damn thing. "I'm Batman," Dean thought as John's hand came down across his face, "You're my Robin," Another hit landed on his arm, "And I'm proud of us." As another hit landed across his eye-_

            **"BATMAN?!" Cas shreiked.**

            Dean shook his head and snapped out of the memory, "Uh, hi. Didn't see you walk in."

            Cas looked around, "I've been in here for almost ten minutes.

            Dean pulled a corner of his mouth and looked apologetically at him, "Sorry, man. I was caught up in one hell of a day dream."

            Cas shook his head, "It's okay. I only said your name like twice. But are you free after school?"

            Dean thought for a minute, "Yeah. I'll just tell Sam to go on ahead without me. Why? What's going on?" Dean really looked at Cas, he was wearing the same black trench coat, and damn did it look good. He was wearing faded skinny jeans and a purple shirt. It wasn't the gay lavender that some guys wear to prove their masculinity. No, it was a deep purple shirt, it really worked well with his eyes. And he noticed that Cas had the top of his hair spiked like normal, but the sides were super straight and flattened against the sides of his face. He marveled at how well the punk looked on him, and he loved it.

            Cas looked at Dean's shoes, and said, "Good… Because I think it's time we talked." And he turned in his chair as Mr. Owe-A-Dollar said good morning to the class, cueing every one to shut their faces and listen to what he had to say.

            This worried Dean. And he was ready for homeroom to be over with so he could ask Cas what the matter was. He slightly turned his head to look at him. He saw perfection, except for the worry lines around his mouth, and the creases along his eyebrows and forehead. Whatever it was, it wasn't good, and Cas was worried about it as well.

            _"Fuck."_ Dean thought as he doodled some more shapes onto his paper.


	5. Chapter 5

            Dean's head popped up as the bell rang. Homeroom was over. He looked beside him at Cas who was already throwing his book bag over his shoulders and walking away. Dean felt slightly abandoned.

            "Cas," Dean said loud enough for him to hear above the clamoring of students.

            Cas stopped and hung his head, "Yeah?"

            Dean was sliding everything from his desk into his book bag and was zipping it up, "Wait for me?"

            Cas turned around and faced Dean, "Okay."

            Dean saw the worry spread across Cas' forehead and the sadness in his eyes. All of the vibrancy was gone from them; they looked like the Certain Suicide gray outside. Cas' shoulders slumped the longer he waited for Dean, as if waiting was physically paining him. Dean looked around at the other students flowing out of the door, threw his book bag over his shoulder, and leaned in towards Cas, "What's wrong buddy? I hate seeing you like this."

            Cas looked up at him with lifeless eyes, and he watched as a little color returned to them, "You'll see when I talk to you later."

            They walked out of the door and began down the hallway. Dean couldn't take it anymore. He turned around, completely cutting Cas off from walking behind him, "What is it? What do you need to tell me?"

            Cas looks around nervously and mumbles, "I can't tell you here." And he tried walking around Dean.

            Dean catches Cas' coat sleeve while brushing against Cas' hand beneath it. Cas smiles a tiny smile and looks up at Dean while pushing his glasses back onto his nose.

            "Anything you need to tell me, you can tell me right here, right now."

            Cas swallowed hard, "I really can't tell you right now. I'll tell you after class. I promise." Dean dropped his sleeve. Cas looked down at it as if Dean had ruined the wool coat.

            Dean rolled his eyes at Cas, "Awesome. Just tell me this, are you dying?"

            Cas pushed his eyebrows together, "No. Should I be?"

            Dean raised his eyebrows and sighed a sigh of relief, "No! No. God, no. If you're not dying, then why are you so worried and upset? Otherwise, everything else works out in the end doesn't it?"

            Dean looked down at the boy standing in front of him, playing with a button on his coat, sweat slightly beading around his forehead and neck. Dean sighed, "How are we doing on our project? Do we really need this day to finish it?"

            Cas looked at a poster on the wall, then to the sea of people filing into the rooms around them, "No. We just need the Works Cited pages, but I can do that easy peasy."

            Dean thought to himself, _"God Cas. You need to lighten up. You don't understand how it actually hurts me to see you like this. I hardly know a thing about you, but you're hurting me."_ Dean saw tears well up in the fragile boy's sad eyes. _"Oh no. No no no no no no no no!"_

            Dean grabbed his hand and led him out of the hallway towards the double doors at the end of the hall, "Come on. We're going to talk it out right now."

            Cas started struggling and pulling at Dean, "No! Project! No feelings today!" Dean yanked hard on Cas' hand. Cas never actually tried to let go, and once they neared the doors, Cas stopped fighting him, and instead held his hand with both of his. Dean didn't mind. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't ignore the small sparks of electricity along his hand. He must be imagining it. The sensation felt hot and cold and great all at the same time. He had never felt this way touching anyone else. He looked at Cas out of the corner of his eye and he was looking at the ground, looking like a child being brought to their parent to tell them what they've done. Dean felt a slight twinge in his heart for forcing Cas to tell him, but he knew he'll feel better once he gets it out.

            They walked quickly across the grass towards the baseball field. It was drizzling, and Dean could feel it starting to collect in his hair. The field was empty of any life except for them. Dean drug Cas towards the dugout and Dean let go of Cas' hand as soon as they got inside. Dean sighed and angrily dropped his book bag on the worn wooden bench and looked at Cas, who was still standing in the entrance, frozen. Dean cocked his head to the side and he sighed angrily, "Come on Cas. Spill it. Just tell me. It can't be that bad if you're not dying."

            Cas took a small step forward and carefully set his book bag down. Dean studied every inch of him that he could. His hair was slightly damp from the weather causing his spiky hair to droop. He noticed Cas was shaking. It wasn't cold out, just unnaturally wet. Cas was scared. He saw the worry in his eyes. Cas took another step towards him and stuck a shaking hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. It was a Galaxy S4 with a plain dark red case. He fished a pair of tangled headphones out of his coat pocket and quickly began untangling them. Dean sighed and shifted his weight.

            Cas got them untangled, plugged them into the jack on his phone and walked towards Dean who had his arms folded across his chest. Cas offered him the headphones.

            "I said tell me what's going on." Dean hissed. Cas looked down at his phone, "I am trying to," and motioned for Dean to take the headphones. Dean took them but looked at Cas as if Cas had just lost all of his marbles. He put them in his ears and Cas looked down at his phone and slowly sighed as he unlocked his phone and opened his media player. Dean could hear the traffic going by on the highway near the school.

            Cas slowly opened his mouth and said, "It's hard for me to explain my feelings, or to tell other how I feel. But it's a lot easier if I ask them to listen to a song that's pretty close to how I feel."

            Dean looked at Cas and nodded. _"That's why he couldn't tell me till later. So now what? Is he going to tell me he can't ever see me again? Is he moving? Oh no. Please, whatever it is. Don't leave."_

            Dean heard soft chords play from the headphones. Cas silently locked his phone and gave it to Dean. He sat down on the bench and pulled his knees up to this chest. Dean listened for a moment and sat down beside him once they began singing. He recognized it as Secondhand Serenade. He listened for a few moments more and heard it. He knew what Cas was trying to tell him.

**_Cause I was born to tell you I love you_ **

**_And I am torn to do what I have to, to make you mine._ **

**_Stay with me tonight._ **

            Dean had heard it before. It was "Your Call" by Secondhand Serenade. Dean heard it a lot last year when they moved schools and Sam had to leave his first girlfriend. He knew the song forwards and backwards thanks to Sam, but he listened until the end for Cas. His heart warmed the longer he listened to it, loving the fact that someone was telling him that he was loved. The longer he listened to it, his thoughts echoing the lyrics back at him, he realized he liked Cas too. He wasn't sure if he loved him yet, but he's definitely someone that Dean doesn't ever want to lose.

            The final words were sung, and the final chords were played. Dean took out the headphones and handed them and Cas' phone back to a shaking Cas. Dean didn't look at him. He wanted to get his previous thoughts into coherent sentences. Maybe he had been sitting there longer than he realized when he felt the bench move and Cas had stood up and grabbed his book bag and began to walk out of the dugout.

            Dean bolted from his seat and ran after Cas, "Stop! Come back!"

            Cas continued walking fast back towards the English building.

            Dean ran as hard as he could, quickly closing the distance between the two. He stumbled as he tripped over the first base, "Son of a- CAS! Stop!"

            Cas kept his back to Dean and kept walking.

            Dean ran to Cas and when he reached him, he grabbed Cas' shoulder and spun him around. Tears were flowing down his face, and looked like they had been for a while. Dean's heart dropped and he frantically began wiping Cas' tears away. Cas just swatted his hands away and told him to stop. Dean realized the tears weren't going to cease. He put his finger under Cas' chin and made him look at him in the eyes. Dean smiled as the words came to him so quickly and naturally. He didn't need to explain himself to Cas. Cas knew him. Somehow, Cas could see all of the pain he had been through, knew his story, and still didn't care. Dean could see the sadness in Cas' eyes and frowned. Cas had been rejected before. Dean smiled and looked at the tracks the tears made down Cas' face and wiped them away with his thumb as he cupped Cas' face with his right hand.

            "You have no reason to cry, Cas." Dean quietly said. Cas cried harder, preparing for Dean to give him the whole "let down" speech. Dean looked back into Cas' eyes.

            "I love you too." And Dean smiled harder than he had in years. Cas just stared at him, paralyzed. The tears stopped and he swallowed hard.

            "Didn't you hear me? I said 'I love you too'!" And Dean held his face with both of his hands. Cas smiled, and the color returned to his eyes. His Cas was back.

            "Oh, Dean. I know it's so soo-," Cas breathlessly said.

            Until Dean cut him off by putting his lips to his.

            Dean was overwhelmed by the fire he felt between them. His face under his hands, his soft lips, the way Cas leaned into him under his jacket and his fingers explored his hips, his fingers slipping beneath the hem of his t-shirt. Dean slipped his right arm down to Cas' waist and pulled him closer into him. His lips parted and kissed Cas deeply. His heart warmed as Cas returned the kiss deeper, leaving him longing for more. Dean moved his left hand down to Cas' neck as he kissed him again. Cas lightly moaned into Dean's mouth and Dean wrapped his arms around Cas' shoulders and pulled him closer. It didn't matter that they didn't know everything about each other, which would come with time. Dean brought his hand from Cas' neck and ran it through Cas' hair and gently pulled as he got a fist full of it. Cas melted into his chest as he moaned again. His hair was so soft, yet crunchy in the places the gel hardened it. He was aware of Cas' wet cheeks against his. Cas pulled away from Dean and looked up into Dean's green eyes. Dean could see the vibrant blue in Cas' eyes from the day they met.

            Dean smiled at Cas and said, "There we go. See, nothing to worry about."

            Cas leaned in and hugged Dean, burying his face in Dean's neck. Dean laughed as he felt Cas smile against the sensitive part of his neck, "Yep, straight as a slinky." They laughed and Cas looked up at him and smiled a huge smile, "I was so scared, Dean. You just don't know."

            Dean looked down at him, unsure what exactly happened to Cas in the past, but he was determined not to let it bother him anymore. "I don't. No more crying. You've got me, there's no reason to cry." Dean soothed Cas. Cas looked up at him as a few tears fell from his eyes.

            "God dammit. What'd I just say?!" Dean boomed. Cas laughed and wiped them away.

            "They're because I'm happy. I'm so happy Dean. I've never been happier. Ever since I saw you, I knew I'd love you." Cas' voice got shaky and Dean gently pressed Cas' head back to his neck.

            "Shh. I'm happy too, Cas. In a world as messed up as this, I understand," Dean calmly said and he turned his face so he could kiss Cas' forehead.

            "So much for our project," Cas giggled into Dean's neck before he kissed it.

            Dean felt the goose bumps rise on his neck. He was sure Cas felt them. "I'd be sleeping anyways." Dean said into Cas' hair.

            "Yep. You do realize it's basically MY project, right?" Cas playfully teased.

            "Hey! I picked the font." Dean poked back.

            "Yeah, and that's it," Cas said, knowing Dean had done more, but it was moments like this he'd remember.

            Cas began to pull away from Dean and Dean forced him right back in place, "Not yet. I don't want this moment to end."

            Cas smiled and wrapped his arms around Dean's back underneath his jacket, trying to get as close to him as he could. Dean took in the feeling at how perfectly they fit together. He never wanted to let go. They stood standing like that for what seemed minutes, but them getting wet from the drizzling sky above them said otherwise. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case anyone would consider it a trigger, there's a mention of suicide in this chapter. (No one dies) But I just wanted to mention it in case it's a trigger for anyone.

            Dean slipped out of Cas' arms and took a step back to look at Cas. He was so beautiful. The rain had dampened Cas' hair so it was flat around his face. They were nearly soaked as the rain picked up as they stood there together, and now they're paying the price.

            Dean squeezed Cas' hand and smiled at him, "I'll be right back. I left my book bag in the dugout." Cas' hand slipped out of Dean's and he smiled back at him. God he'd never get tired of that smile.

            Cas put his hands in his pockets and looked down at his shoes as Dean took another step away, "You better come back."

            Dean stopped and turned to face Cas, he looked sheepishly up at Dean and smiled nervously. Dean smiled, _"Could he really get much more awkward and cute?"_ He thought to himself.

            Dean took off his jacket and placed it around Cas' above his shoulders and head. Cas reached up and held it in place. Dean was suddenly aware of the cold skin against his bare arms and could feel it sinking through his shirt. He felt goose bumps rise all over his skin. "I have no choice but to come back now," Dean said as he flashed Cas a smile as he jogged back to the dugout. He reached the dugout and grabbed his book bag. But he noticed a piece of paper on the bench beside where he was sitting. He pushed his eyebrows together and picked it up. The paper was soft and felt wet because of the rainy weather. He frowned as he unfolded it he recognized it as the song lyrics that Cas just had him listen to, and at the bottom in neat cursive handwriting.

            _"Dean,_

_It's okay if you don't feel the same way about me. I could have misinterpreted the signs. I've always been told that if you like someone, tell them. So I did. If you don't feel the same way, I'm sorry I've wasted your time. I'd still like to be your partner in English, but it doesn't have to be anything more._

_-Cas"_

            Dean smiled and rolled his eyes, "Oh you stupid- Of course I like you too." He mumbled to himself. He sighed and reread the letter. Then he folded it back up and stuffed it into his jeans.

            Dean was walking back across the field and saw Cas had exited the field and stood under a nearby tree still holding his jacket over him. Dean wiped as much of the rain off of his arms as he could. He was starting to appreciate his arms starting to fill out. With years and years of the physical training John had put him and Sammy through; it's surprising they both don't look like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

            Dean walked up to Cas and smiled at him. Cas smiled back with a 1,000 watt smile as he handed back the leather jacket. Dean couldn't help but feel a bit sad for Cas because if he could be this happy, then he could also be that sad. The spectrum could flip one day, and he could be so far in the depression pit, and the thought of it pains Dean to his very core. He wouldn't let that happen if he could help it.

            Cas hesitantly stands in front of Dean as he puts his jacket and then book bag on. Cas tosses his bag over his shoulders and smoothes out his hair. Dean looks at him and holds out his hand, hoping Cas would take it. Cas paused as he looked at the open invitation.

            "Are you sure?" Cas asked.

            "Would I have held out my hand if I didn't want to?" Dean said rhetorically.

            Cas smiled and laced his finger in between Dean's and they began walking away from the fields.

            Dean wanted to get to know him on a more personal level. He barely knew anything about the guy, yet he's opened up a whole new side of him that he didn't think was there. Dean was still trying to figure out the whole "How did I not realize I am bi, and why is it coming out NOW?" thing. He wasn't worried about what his classmates would think. He was more worried about what Sam would think, and how to keep it from Dad because, "Fags aren't the reason I fought in the Army." Dean rolled his eyes.

            "Hey Cas?" Dean asked.

            "Hm?" Cas hummed.

            "How about we skip English for today? I want to get to know you, but I can't exactly do that during class, and I have to take care of Sam after school every day. So, why don't we go to the diner right down the road and we can chat for the next 3 hours?" Dean nervously asked.

            "W-Won't we get caught?" Cas asked nervously.

            "If we do, we'll just spend another afternoon together." Dean said matter-of-factly.

            Cas smiled, "Then I suppose we better skip class then."

            So they walked hand in hand down the road towards the diner. They chatted about little things such as favorite colors and the types of music they listen to. Dean felt Cas was the good boy type of guy, which made no sense with the punk look he had going on.

            They could see the diner at the bottom of the hill they were at the top of. Dean looked down at Cas and squeezed his hand, and Cas squeezed back.

            Dean drew in a deep breath, "Cas?"

            Cas looked up at him, "Yes?"

            Dean shakily said, "Can you…"

            Cas drew his eyebrows together, "Can I do what?"

            Dean sighed, "Can you, uh, go back to the way you dressed before? I mean, you look good, REALLY good like this, but I can tell this isn't you. I want you to be nothing but one hundred percent truthful, real, honest, etc with me."

            Cas smiled and then chuckled, "Sure. But you were right, the dress shoes were too much. And this black trench coat isn't warm enough, it's too scratchy, and it feels a bit too small. The khaki one is my favorite."

            Dean couldn't help but feel a bit guilty that he had been the reason that Cas had changed his appearances. Dean looked at his shoes as they walked, "I'm sorry. If I knew you were going to take it literally, I would have only mentioned the shoes. I feel like an ass."

            Dean felt Cas wiggling his fingers between his own, "Dean, it's okay. Just because you said it doesn't mean you made me do it. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't want to. Besides, I'm still keeping the sex crazed hair and the clothes. I kind of like this look. It may not match my 'bad boy persona,' but I like it. I can tell you like my hair."

            Dean raised his eyebrows, "More like JEALOUS of your hair. I have the best hair in my family, and you put mine to shame."

            Cas smiled big, "Let me tell you a secret: mousse, gel, and hairspray. It gives you different textures in different places. A gay guy going into the Navy taught me that. I personally don't understand the shaved sides look, but hey, whatever works for him, I guess."

            Dean looked completely confused, "What's mousse? And hairspray is for chicks. No way I'm putting that in my hair!"

            Cas swung Dean's arm playfully, "Come on Dean! It's not makeup! No one would even know you have it in except maybe your younger brother."

            Dean's eyes went wide, "He would definitely assume I'm gay."

            Cas raised an eyebrow at Dean. Dean could tell he wanted to say something witty, but Cas held his tongue.

            They reached the diner in only a few minutes. Dean held the door open for Cas who smiled as he walked through. Dean put his hands in his coat pocket as he walked into the unfamiliar diner. Cas walked in front of him and picked a booth by the window in the back corner. Dean hesitantly slid into the booth with the wall at his back. He was thankful for Cas choosing this booth, it gave him a full view of the dining area and also both entrances/exits.

            Cas picked up a menu and flipped a couple of pages and stared at the menu like he was preparing for an exam. Dean picked one up and looked for the burgers. He saw something that resembled a bacon cheeseburger and closed the menu, "That was easy."

            Cas made a face at Dean and closed his menu as well.

            The waiter comes over and he has shaggy black hair that's stuffed under a black cap. He has a smile on his face, but Dean could tell it was forced.

            "Hey guys! Can I start you off with something to drink?" the waiter said in a chipper tone.

            "Coke or Pepsi for me," Dean replied.

            "Um. Same for me too, I guess." Cas shyly said.

            "Okay guys! I'll be right back with your drinks!" and he began to walk away.

            "Actually…" Dean quickly said. The waiter twirled on his heel and faced them with another big and fake smile bigger than the last.

            "We know what we'd like to order, if it makes things a bit easier." Dean politely said. The waiter gave a genuine smile and took their order. Dean had the bacon cheeseburger with fries and a slice of apple pie. Cas had a plain cheeseburger with a small side salad and some kind of peanut butter and jelly pastry. It looked weird.

            The waiter finished jotting their order down then left to go get their drinks. Dean folded his arms and looked around the diner for anything odd… Supernaturally odd. There was a man who finished his entire meal in nearly 8 minutes, but that's not anything threatening. He mentally shrugged and looked at Cas who was staring at him.

            "Um, yes?" Dean asked him.

            "Tell me something about you!" Cas demanded.

            "It'd be easier if you asked me a question." Dean began slowly ripping a napkin up. Maybe if he kept his hands busy, it wouldn't turn awkward.

            "What happened to your mom?" Cas timidly asked.

            Oh. We're going to the deep end of the pool. No wading first. Well, Dean knows he cannot tell Cas the truth, that his mother died on the ceiling, in a fire that was caused by something supernatural. That would definitely turn Cas away. So Dean didn't tell the whole truth.

            "She died in a fire when I was four. They say it was an electrical shortage. My dad tried to save her while I carried my little brother out, but… He couldn't. He almost lost his life too. And now my dad works all of the time to try and forget what happened, I think." Dean solemnly explained.

            Cas sadly nodded, "I'm sorry, Dean. My parents aren't the best either. I don't know my mom, and my dad is a dead beat. He usually spends what little money he can on alcohol, and is never home. My oldest brother is Michael; he looks after all of us. Gabriel is the second oldest. He isn't home much, but he's probably the closest thing I have to a best friend. He's the only one in my family I actually like. I'm sure I have plenty of other siblings, I just haven't met them." Cas looked down into his lap as if he confessed a dirty secret instead of talking about his messed up family.

            "What do you mean 'haven't met them'?" Dean asked.

            "My dad isn't the modest type." Cas bluntly said.

            "Oh." Dean stupidly said, "I'm sorry, Cas. I guess we're talking about touchy subjects. I won't get offended or upset if you won't. I just want to know more about you."

            Cas gave a small smile, obviously still mentally stuck on the thought of his father, "Sure. I think I can do that."

            Dean gave a small smile in return and straightened as the waiter returned with their drinks.

            "All right, I put in the order for your food, so it'll be just a few minutes." The waiter humbly replied, then walked off to the counter and began texting. Dean chuckled and Cas rolled his eyes.

            "So Cas," Dean started, "What do you want to do in this world? What do you want to do after we graduate?"

            Cas beamed a huge smile, "I want to help people in any possible way that I can." It was obvious that this was one of Cas' passions. It was obvious to Dean that Cas would succeed in doing just that too.

            "I already have a full ride to Duke University in North Carolina. I'll be able to help a lot of people as a doctor. Maybe I'll get a minor in Psychology so I can work with and help those with mental illnesses. People say I'm a great person to talk to, but I don't want to be a guidance counselor. It's too much paper work and not enough progress to me. I realize that as a doctor I may not be able to save everyone, but if I can help ease their suffering, or help them transition into the afterlife, that'll be enough for me." Cas let out a big sigh and rubbed his cheeks. _"It must hurt to smile that big."_ Dean thought.

            "That's great, Cas. You'll make a great doctor. You'll help every one of your patients somehow. I have no doubt about that." Dean confidently said.

            "Thank you, Dean, but what about you? What makes you happy in this world? What kind of mark do you want to leave before you go?" Cas enthusiastically asked.

            "I haven't really thought about it to be honest. I just knew that after I graduate I'd help with the family business. I DO love my family. I'd do anything for them. I will never let anyth-anyone hurt them." Dean said matter-of-factly.

            Cas had a slightly confused look mixed with sorrow on his face, "I wish my family and I were close like that. I'm sorry that I can't quite understand the love you feel for them, but if you feel you must protect, then do it. We have to do what makes us happy in this world, if we don't… There's no point in living." Cas said solemnly.

            Oh no. No. Dean reached across the table and caressed Cas' face until he looked at him, "Cas. No matter what, you HAVE to keep living. You go through a rough spot in life and you're utterly miserable, oh well. It'll get better. It ALWAYS gets better. Your words just told me that you've been through a rough spot or two and you wanted to quit.. Right?"

            Cas looked at him with those big blue eyes and tears began to well up, "Yes." He whispered.

            Dean lowers his voice and removes his hand and hands Cas a new napkin from the napkin dispenser and says, "I know we're in a shitty little diner in the most depressing state in the country, but tell me… Are you happy right now, in this moment?"

            Cas smiled big and took the napkin from Dean, "Yes. I am. Very much." He wiped away the pending tears and balled up the napkin.

            Dean whispered, "Nothing majorly happy may happen, but we have to live for the small moments like this."

            The waiter showed up quickly with their food and sat their baskets of food down in front of them and quickly said, "Enjoy!" and walked away quickly back to his phone under the counter.

            Cas started squirting an unhealthy amount of ketchup on his fries and said, "Okay Dean. I'll keep that in mind, I'll live for the small moments. Besides, how am I going to help people by being dead?"

            Dean nodded and said with a mouthful of burger, "Exadftly. Anf I care abouft you."

            Cas smirked and chuckled in a teasing way, "Were you not taught table manners?"

            Dean's smile disappeared and removed his elbows from the table and swallowed his bite of burger, "Sorry. I live with my younger brother and my dad every now and then. I'm not used to being around other company." Dean said apologetically.

            Cas spoke with a bunch of fries in his mouth, "I'm Dean. I talk wif a mouf full of burger."

            Dean chuckled and they continued talking as they ate their food. Dean did a routine sweep of the diner as a couple walked in. He made eye contact with the male as he looked at him. His eyes flashed silver. Dean hid his alarm and began to form a plan to escape since they were in public and he didn't have any kind of weapon.

            "Cas, we got to go." Dean quickly said, and he opened his wallet and pulled out a twenty and put it on the table, surely enough to cover the bill and leave a tip.

            Cas began to show panic, which was the last thing Dean needed, "What's wrong? Why do we have to go?"

            "We have to get back to school. I have to check on Sammy." Dean stood up and grabbed Cas' coat for him.

            Cas stood and Dean helped him put his coat on as Cas whispered, "Is it someone in here?"

            "I guess you could say that." Dean quickly said as they marched past the Shapeshifter couple. Dean glanced at them, who looked at him with silver eyes and grinned as they stood and began walking out of the diner after Dean and Cas.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but I hope you guys enjoy after that cliffhanger I left you all on. Muahahaha.

            Dean looked behind them to find the shapeshifters walking after them. Dean grabbed Cas' hand and said, "No matter what, get back to school and find Sam Winchester. Tell him 'Go to Funky Town and buy some Poughkeepsie.' he'll know what I mean."

            "D-Dean, you're scaring m-me. What do those people w-want?" Cas shakily said.

            "Son of a bitch. Not even a pocket knife. Shit. Gotta protect Cas." Dean muttered to himself.

            "DEAN. WHO are those people?!" Cas demanded.

            The shapeshifters starting running after them, and Dean gave Cas a big shove towards the school, "Go! Get Sammy! Please!" Dean pleaded.

            The female took off running after Cas. Cas was a fast runner, but there's no way he could outrun the creature. Dean chased after her, "Come here and get ME you bitch! I have more meat on me!"

            She turned around and glared at Dean with a wicked smile on her lips, "You're going to regret calling me that?"

            "What? A bitch?" Dean taunted trying to buy Cas some time.

            The shapeshifter snarled and pulled out a knife, "Yes, a bitch, which is exactly what I'm going to make you." She clearly spat at Dean.

            "I'd rather keep everything in one piece, thank you." Dean chuckled and was suddenly grateful for not eating like a hippo, or he'd be laying down in a food coma, useless.

            The male shapeshifter finally caught up. He was slow, but he was fat and heavy. The female was very slim, quick, and appeared to be smart too. Dean saw Cas disappear over the top of the hill. He breathed a small sigh and prepared to fight these monsters. The woman lunged at him, knife nearly at his neck. He dodged quickly but grabbed her wrist. She caught him off guard by pulling him closer to her and punching him square in the right eye.

            "Son of a bitch! … Well, never mind. You're just a bitch." Dean spat at her. She snarled and shoved a boot in his face and cracked Dean's nose. He fell to the gravel, which the man picked him up and held him in a choke hold, ready to break Dean's neck.

            "Wait. Wait. If you kill me, others will come looking for me, and they'll kill you when they find out what happened." Dean pleaded.

            "Yeah right, you're a nobody. Nobody gives a single fuck about you." The man whispered in Dean's ear. _"While half of that may be true, Cas will get Sam. Sam will be safe. And Dad will come back and kill these assholes."_ Dean reasoned with himself.

            The big man began dragging Dean away off of the road towards the woods. The woman kept the knife at his throat. When they were in the woods, hidden from view of the road, the man tied Dean to a large tree. Dean pulled out a mini saw he keeps strapped around his forearm just for situations like this. _"Why am I never tied up by anyone attractive?"_ Dean mentally laughed.

            The woman slammed Dean's head against the tree, "Where is John Winchester?"

            Dean groaned at the pain. He could feel it resonate in his broken nose, and he was beginning to feel uncomfortable at how soaked his shirt was from the rain and blood. "Why didn't you just ask?" Dean snarkily said.

            The woman gave a sarcastic smile, "Tell us where he is or we'll just go ask Sammy."

            "If I knew, I wouldn't tell you. But I really have to train some more since I got my ass handed to me by a bitch." Dean tried to wiggle his nose to see how badly it's broken. It's out of place, but it's nothing bad.

            She punches him in the eye again and grabs a fist full of Dean's hair and slams it against the tree, "I'm not asking you again."

            Dean smiled, "I assume he's killed nearly your entire family?"

            The woman's evil smile faded into something of sorrow mixed with pain and anger.

            "Good. You're the nobodies. The scum of this earth. You all deserve to be wiped out." Dean spat at them.

            The man landed heavy blows to Dean's stomach, "Don't you dare! He killed our children! Now we'll make him suffer that same pain."

            Dean braced himself for his death, until he heard a gunshot. He looked up and the man slumped to the ground. Sam was just past a couple of trees and he buried a bullet in the woman's chest. Sam stepped over them and began untying Dean.

            "Were those silver?" Dean demanded.

            "Yes, Dean. How'd you get your ass handed to you by a girl?" Sam asked with a chuckle.

            Dean was at a loss for words, "The guy did."

            "No he didn't. The boot pattern on your face doesn't match his tennis shoes." Sam said with a giant grin.

            Dean shrugged off the ropes and gently wiped at his face until his eyes landed on a shaking Cas.

            "You didn't leave him at school?!" Dean shouted at Sam.

            "He wouldn't stay! Plus, he drove me here." Sam said timidly.

            Dean glared at Sam and marched past him to the shaking Cas, "Cas.."

            Cas backed up slowly and flinched away from Dean as he tried to grab Cas' hand. Cas took off his glasses and wiped a tear that had just fallen, "J-Just s-stay away from m-me.." Cas stuttered.

            Dean wanted to hold his stomach. He hoped that wasn't what Cas really wanted. They just met, they are just getting to know each other, and in that moment, Dean realized that he was beginning to fall for him too.

            In a desperate attempt, Dean firmly grabbed Cas' hand and looked into Cas' teary fearful eyes, "Please. Just let us explain. I'll tell you the truth, I swear."

            Cas tried to pull away. He was acting like a scared animal in a cage. Dean just firmly gripped him and held him close, almost in a hugging embrace except for Cas' arms jumbled up between them trying to push Dean away.

            "Cas, I owe you an explanation. At least let me give you that." Dean pleaded.

            Cas stopped struggling, but his body was still tense in Dean's arms.

            _"God. I can't lose him. I don't know why I care about him so much in so little time, and I couldn't lose him now and have to deal with him hating me or fearing me for the rest of the school year. Please, PLEASE just listen to me, Cas."_ Dean thought. Cas relaxed a tiny bit, "Okay. Go ahead and explain. I won't promise that I'll believe you."

            "Cas, if you look at those people's eyes, you'll see they're not human." Dean said matter-of-factly.

            "A dog or cat isn't human, yet it doesn't justify killing them." Cas said coldly.

            Dean sighed and began mentally talking to himself, _"If Cas could just see that these creatures are dangerous and a THREAT to mankind."_

            "Cas, those are Shapeshifters. They take the form of another human and cause chaos and kill more humans in the process. They're barely human themselves. You can tell they're what they are by their silver eyes. They show up on camera and when they slip up face to face and reveal what they are. By killing these two, Sam here saved my life and probably at least 10 more lives. They were going to kill me Cas." Dean looked down at Cas. He seemed to be slowly absorbing everything in. He slowly pulled away from Dean, but Dean reluctantly let him go. Cas walked over to the two limp bodies laying on the forest floor. He bent down to look at the female, and he gently pulled up one of her eyelids. He gasped and jumped back a couple of feet. Cas closed his eyes and took off his glasses. Dean closed his own eyes as well and shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. He wished he could have let Cas be oblivious to these creatures all around him.

            Suddenly Dean feels arms around his stomach and chest. He looked down and saw Cas hugging him, tears still flowing down his face. Cas looked at him with such fear in those big round eyes, "Dean, please don't let those kinds of creatures get me."

            Dean hugged him back and smiled into his hair and whispered, "I won't. I promise. I didn't let them get you just a little while ago, now didn't I?"

            He felt Cas smile and nod against his chest. Dean pulled away from Cas and grabbed him by the hand and they started to walk back towards the road leaving a shocked and gaping mouth on Sammy's face as he chased after them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little shorter than the rest, but I've had a bad case of writer's block. Sorry guys. Not beta-d as usual, but I hope you all enjoy! :)

            Dean tossed his book bag on the floor beside his bed as he face planted onto his bed. Dean sighed a big sigh as he felt a sharp pain that lingered in his left side. He reached under his pillow and felt reassured as he felt the cold metal of the small pistol he kept there. He buries his face in his pillow and clenches his jaw at the pain he feels in his ribs. He should lay on his back. It'd feel ten times better, but a part of him cannot consciously lie on his back. He doesn't want to look at the ceiling.

            "Dean! Come on. Sit up. I got a bucket of ice." Sam called as he shut the hotel door. Dean reluctantly let go of the pistol, rolled over and sat up with a groan. He took the bag of ice from Sam and held it up to his face. He managed to straighten his nose back, but there's a slight curve that he's sure will never heal. _"Oh well. I'm still adorable."_ He thought to himself.

            Sam sighed as he pulled up a chair opposite from Dean, "Dean. I don't think you should go to school tomorrow. You probably have a couple of broken ribs and maybe a few bruised organs. I'll explain to that guy, Castiel, was it? I'm sure he-" Sam began, but Dean interrupted, "No. I'll go. We're supposed to present our project tomorrow." Dean said. He lied back and kept his eyes shut as he put the ice bag over his nose and eye, _"I haven't gotten my ass kicked this bad since I was younger. It hurts a lot more than I remember."_ He thought.

            "What is your project on?" Sam asked, curious.

            "I have absolutely no idea." Dean said.

            "So you've got brain damage too. Crap." Sam put his face in his hands, "Should I call Dad?"

            "Cas was doing the whole project before. I've just been twiddling my thumbs. I barely knew before, and I barely know now. Don't be a wet blanket Sammy. I'm fine." Dean huffed.

            "Okay. You're just bleeding and bruised to hell all over. Sure. You're FINE. I'm still going to call Dad and let him know that we spotted and took care of two shapeshifters." Sam said while reaching for the phone.

            "Wait. Just tell him I took care of them. He'd kill me if he knew you were there in harm's way. Please, Sammy." Dean pleaded. Sam rolled his eyes, but Dean knew that Sam wouldn't willingly get Dean into trouble.

            While Sam was on the phone with John, Dean sat up and carefully removed his shirt. It really hurt his ribs and stomach to raise his arms that far. He winced in pain and held his breath until his shirt was off. He looked down and saw nothing but blue, purple, and a little yellow. _"Son of a bitch."_ He looked closer and saw that the lower two ribs on his left side weren't quite round. A lot of pain seemed to be radiating from here. He gently touched the skin and a white hot pain shot through him, making him suck in air, which only hurt him more. His knees nearly buckled from it, _"Oh man, they're broken. Yeah, not going to school. Shit. Cas. I'm sorry."_

            Dean walked over to the table and fixed him another bag of ice to place on his stomach. It was nearly every color of the rainbow. Sam walked back into the room and slammed the phone down on his dresser. Dean turned around and carefully placed the ice bag on his stomach. He winced at the cold, and waited for Sam to tell him what was said on the phone.

            "I better call school tomorrow morning and tell them that something happened and you'll be out for a few days, and that I'm staying here with you. Dad said he'd stop by the school and give them a note or something excusing us from class. I don't mind taking care of you, Dean, you're my brother. If I get mad, don't get mad back. I can't stand being cooped up in hotel rooms anymore. " Sam spat.

            "Then you can go and get some fresh air while I heal. Just take a gun with you and your phone. Dad won't have to know that you left for 10 minutes. It's obvious that monsters are targeting us now, but Dad won't let them get us. He never has, but it's no reason for us to be reckless and make his job harder." Dean rebutted.

            "Dean! You don't understand! Dad is keeping us both out of school for the whole week! It's bullshit! I care about you Dean, but if Dad won't let me leave this room at ALL, how am I supposed to keep up in my classes?!" Sam yelled.

            Dean couldn't think well with the pain coursing through his body. All he wanted to do was sleep. He suddenly felt very tired. "Sam, we'll figure it out. Maybe we can go up there tomorrow after Dad delivers the note and get all of our school work for the week. Hopefully they'll work with us once they see how bad I look." Dean smirked. He felt worse than he looked with clothes on.

            "Okay. I guess that'd work. While I'm going in between our classes and getting our work, I'll try and find Castiel and let him know that you'll be out for a few days." Sam reasoned.

            "You do that. I'm going to finish my part of the project tomorrow morning and we'll head up there by lunch tomorrow, sound good?" Dean said.

            "Yep. Sounds good." Sam replied quickly.

            Dean laid down on his right side. It hurt, but not as bad. He faced the wall, still holding his bags of ice to his face and side, and a tear slipped and fell onto his pillow. He hadn't cried in a while, and he definitely should get up and go to the bathroom so Sam doesn't see him vulnerable. He doesn't have the energy to get up and attempt to shower so he could cry in there. So Dean just settles on crying silently into his pillow. He hated having to put Sam in harm's way today. He hated having to tell Cas the truth. He hated having to drag Dad into this. He hated the fact that Dad may find out about him and Cas. He hated that Sam was missing school because of him. He hated the fact that if he and Cas had just stayed at school, nothing would have happened. He hated that Cas would have to present their project without him. He just hated everything right now. He was beyond disappointed in himself.

            Dean felt a hand on his shoulder. Dean ignored the urge to sniffle; it'd be a dead giveaway.

            "I'm sorry, Dean. That you got hurt, that I freaked out, and that I'm not being very thankful for you. Granted you were fighting those things with no weapons, but I'm glad you asked for me. That you feel you can rely on me to save you." Sam said in a humble tone.

            Dean quickly wiped his nose and cheeks, "I didn't need your 'saving' I just needed a weapon. Don't get sappy."

            Dean wasn't looking at Sam, but he could feel a smirk beating Dean in the back of the head and he heard Sam's trademark scoff, "Oh yeah? So you didn't need me to save your life?" Sam said teasingly.

            "Nope, I had it all under control." Dean knew that Sam knew he was full of shit. Truth is, deep down, Dean knew that Sam saved his life. It was the first real time that Sam saved Dean's life from a monster. Dean just didn't know how to begin to thank him yet.

            "I'm not a big girl like you, Sammy, but I'm glad you came when I needed you." Dean said, unsure how to put the appreciation and love he felt for his younger brother into words.

            Sam patted Dean's shoulder as he stood up and walked back to his own bed. Dean still lay there on his side clutching his bags of watery ice. He ignored the pain and drifted into a deep sleep.

            **_Dean was in the back of the Impala. Sam was up front with John, reading the map for John. Dean didn't know where they were going. He didn't care. He just stared out of his window at the miles and miles of wheat fields. There was just wheat, as far as you could see._**

**_"Hey Dean, pass me my Journal?" John asked._ **

**_Dean passed it to him and went back to looking out the window. His fingers began playing with the little green army man stuck in the ashtray as his thoughts began to wander._ **

**_"Sam seems to know about me and Cas. He hasn't disowned me or stopped talking to me. It must be okay. What would Dad do though? Would he accept it, or reject me, or would things always be awkward?_ **

**_Me, dating a guy? Can I do that? I don't know why, but after a week I really care about him. I can never admit that out loud, but I do. We just clicked the moment we met. Love at first sight? No. that only happens in movies, right?_ **

**_I'll do it. I'll ask Cas to be my… boyfriend. I'll explain that it will take time to get used to. Wait. What is there to get used to? We've already kind of been on a date, and we kissed. Whoa. Yeah. We kissed. Son of a bitch. We did. It didn't feel wrong. I want to do that again. Yeah, definitely._ **

"Dean!" Sam slapped Dean's leg.

            "Huh? What?" Dean mumbled. He began to roll over but stopped when pain shot up and down his left side and groaned in protest. Sam gave Dean a sad look and offered Dean a hand to help sit up. Dean waved him away and sat up with a grunt.

            Dean slowly got up and literally threw himself in the shower. He knew the warm water would hurt his side. And he had no idea how to wash himself while keeping his left side as still as possible.

            35 minutes later Dean turned off the water with a sigh. He didn't get to just stand under the water like he likes to. He got dressed and ready and walked back out into the room. Sam stood from the sofa and looked like he was ready to catch Dean if he were to fall over.

            "Sam, stop acting like I'm dying. My side hurts. I may need help with ice and maybe putting my jacket on, but I'm not passing out or anything, okay? Relax." Dean said a little too coldly.

            "Okay." Sam said as he sat back down and continued his homework.

            Dean sat at the table and began his project, "Right. Our project is on mythical creatures of the Middle Ages or something like that. I guess it's supposed to lead us into Beowulf and then onto Shakespeare I guess."

            Sam raised his eyebrows, "Should be pretty easy then."

            "Exactly, but Cas was persistent on letting him research everything and then we'd put it all together. I guess that's changed a little bit now that he probably has an idea of what we are." Dean had a smidge of sadness to his voice.

            Sam remained silent after that. Dean completed his part of the project in silence.

            About an hour later, Dean was packing everything up when he saw Sam was listening to music and reading a book. Dean got up and slowly put his bookbag on his shoulders. Sam saw him and got his things together as well. They got ready to leave, put the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door and they left to go to the school.

            What they didn't count on was who was walking through the lobby straight towards them.

            Dean was happy to see the burly man, but he stiffened for the pending punishment coming his way.

            "Hey boys, we need to talk, now." John said in a stern manner. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No smut this chapter, but there is plenty to come!

John headed for the elevator, not waiting to see if the boys were following him. They were following, but slowly. Dean feels he disobeyed a direct order from John, and the punishment was usually painful. The way his side felt, he wasn't sure he could handle any disciplinary action from his heavy handed father.

            Sam grabbed the back of Dean's shirt and whispered, "Remember, I was at school the entire time. I replaced those silver bullets I used with yours."

            Dean kept himself faced forward, ready to walk into the elevator, and held his side hoping he wouldn't be in worse shape when he came back down into the lobby.

            The three of them stood in the elevator, and it was a quiet ride. When the elevator stopped, Sam walked out first, and got his key ready to open the door. John pushed past both of them and produced his own key. He opened the door and went straight for each black duffel bag under the boys' beds. He pulled them out and checked the ammo and the guns. Dean walked in and sat down in a chair. Sam stood slightly in front of him, as if to protect him. Dean didn't like that. He didn't need protection from his little brother. Instead, Dean motioned to Sam to take a seat across from him. Sam hesitantly left Dean's side and took a seat. It was obvious what would happen if John found out the truth. When John was done checking for any inconsistencies in the story, and came up with nothing, he walked over to Dean.

            "Dean," John started, "How did you let two shape shifters get the better of you? Why didn't you put them down immediately?"

            Dean took a deep breath, "I was with a friend. We were skipping class, and we were at the diner down the road from the school. The shapeshifters and I noticed each other. I had full intention of wasting them. Doing so in the middle of the diner didn't seem an appropriate place to shoot them. So I led them out and told my friend to leave and get back to school as soon as possible and not to come back, that I'd meet up with him later. I led them from the main road into the forest, one came up from behind and they tied me to a tree. I cut through the rope, and then shot them when they weren't paying attention."

            Dean grunted and held his side. That took a lot more effort than he thought. John looked at Dean disapprovingly then quietly said, "Let me see, son." Sam stood to take Dean's book bag and he placed it on the floor. Dean quickly shrugged off his shirt with a couple of choked coughs and grunts. John closed his eyes for a few minutes when he saw nearly every color of bruising on Dean's torso.

            "Why are you so reckless and stupid sometimes, Dean?" John spat at him.

            Dean stayed quiet, but his mind was racing, _"I'm sorry, Dad. I'm sorry I can't be the son you want me to be. I can't even protect myself. How am I supposed to protect and save others?"_

            "He saved people, Dad." Sam was quiet, but it was easily heard in the quiet room.

            "What?" John asked.

            "He saved Cas. Dean said that those shapeshifters got away after you slaughtered their entire family. They wanted revenge. They were going to come after me and Dean. They would have had no problem in killing Cas, Dean's friend, to get to me and him." Sam spoke matter-of-factly.

            John raised his voice, "Now look at him! If anything burst through that door he sure couldn't protect you now! He only has one job! Right now, he can't even do that!"

            Sam gave him the trademark bitch face, "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself in a school filled with hundreds of other people."

            "I don't give a shit what you THINK you can do!" John yelled as he waved his arms around as if he were demonstrating that it's quite obvious.

            "Guys." Dean butted in, but he was ignored as usual.

            "I know that I can handle taking care of Dean and myself for a week! I'm not a baby anymore! I know how to fight and handle a gun!" Sam screamed back at the reddening John

            "Please stop. This isn't going to get anywhere." Dean quietly pleaded. Deep down he liked seeing Sam stick up for himself. Sam was capable now, and in reality he DID save Dean.

            "Oh really, Sam?! You think you're better than your brother?! Who got his ass handed to him by a couple of low level monsters!!!" John spat as Sam as he got in Sam's face.

            "Please. Talk about me like I'm not here." Dean sarcastically tossed at them. He knew better than to try and really get in between them while he was injured. However, his side could use some rest and some ice.

            Sam and John continue yelling at each other, but Dean just quietly says, "I'm going to get some ice." And he begins to stand, but John shoves him back in the chair. Dean cries out and stiffens as pain courses up, down, and around the left side of his rib cage.

            Sam jumps in and pushes John away from Dean, but John pulls his hand back. Dean stood up and quickly pushed Sam out of the way when there was a sudden and loud knock on the door. They froze and comically looked at each other.

            "Sam, would you mind getting that, please?" Dean politely asked Sam. Sam slightly nodded and left Dean with John as he went to answer the door.

            Dean walked to his bed and grabbed his shirt and started to attempt to put it on, but gave up. He heard a familiar voice, and walked quickly to the door where Sam was standing, "Cas?"

            "Oh my god. You're really hurt." Cas responded.

            "Nice to see you." Dean said.

            "I'm glad to see you're okay. Those guys beat you up really bad; but anyway.. I heard in second period that you and Sam were going to be out for a week or so, so I brought you guys your homework." Cas meekly said.

            Sam took the books from Cas, "Thank you, Cas. We were just about to head up there." Sam dropped his voice to a whisper, "But Dad dropped by."

            "Well, I also just wanted to say thank you for saving me yesterday. Who knows what those guys would have done to me." Cas gave a smile, but his eyes only seemed to linger on Dean's naked torso, on the awful looking bruises. It seemed obvious that he was playing dumb as to **what** Dean saved him from, in case anyone was listening.

            "You're welcome, Cas. Oh! I almost forgot. I finished my half of the project, so you could present it today." Dean said excitedly.

            Cas beamed a huge smile, "Nope! I mean, I'll take what you have, but she said we can present when you get back."

            "Awesome! That's great news! But uhm, do you have a pen or marker or something?" Dean excitedly asked.

            Cas pulled a pen out of his pocket and handed it to Dean. Cas pushed his glasses up his nose and said, "Why?"

            Sam left to put the books down while they talked. Dean pulled the cap off and grabbed Cas' hand, prepared to write on his palm. He said a little loudly, "Well Cas, here's some sources you should check out. You know, to make our project better." Dean wrote down his phone number.

            Cas smiled and said, "I'm so glad you're this enthusiastic about our project, Dean. I'll look forward to you coming back soon. English was lonely today."

            Dean frowned, he just wanted to leave and go hang out with Cas. Sam could handle himself, but Dad was in his way, and well, his ribs. "I can't really talk, Cas. I'm sorry. Just call me when you can. I'll be here resting." Dean whispered.

            Cas nodded and quietly said back, "Bye, Dean. Feel better."

            Sam quickly appeared in the doorway with a giant smile, "Here's Dean's part of the project." And handed Cas a bright orange folder. Cas blushed and took the folder, "Thank you. I forgot."

            "Mhmmm. Sure." Sam smiled pretty big and Dean nudged Sam to tell him to shut up and back off.

            Just like that, Cas turned around and walked back towards the elevator and Dean shut the door and returned to his scrutinizing father.

            "That's the boy you saved?" John asked.

            "Yeah." Dean replied.

            They stood there for a moment, quiet. John just stood there with his arms crossed, looking at Dean's bruises and the cuts on his face. Dean stood there, unsure of what to say or do. So he let his arms just hand by his side, occasionally scratching his face or the back of his neck.

            Sam finally broke the silence, "I'm going to go get some ice for you, Dean."

            Dean nodded and Sam left. John took a deep breath and walked over to Dean, trying to get a closer look.

            "How bad does it hurt?" John asked.

            "It hurts to breathe, I can't lay on this side, and any quick or jarring movements send an intense pain through me from shoulder to hip." Dean said quietly.

            "Well, you definitely broke your lower two ribs, and the one above it is fractured. It's going to take a couple of months to fully heal. I don't have any prescription painkillers, but you can take some Tylenol and Motrin for it. I'll make sure you have enough." John quietly said to Dean without taking his eyes off of him.

            "I'll be fine. I'll stay here for a week, but then Sammy has to go back to school. He is taking AP classes and he really shouldn't miss ONE day." Dean bargained.

            "Deal, but if you need more time to rest, you take it." John demanded.

            "Deal" Dean quietly said. He's had a long day already. He just wants to sleep for a couple of hours.

            Sam returned with a small bucket of ice and a couple of super mini trash bags and a thin hotel towel. Sam went to work making an ice compress as Dean laid down on his bed on his right side. John stood up and took a good long look at his boys.

            "I've got to go. Take care of each other." John demanded.

            "Yes sir." They both said in unison.

            John walked out of the hotel door and it slammed shut behind them. Sam sighed and gave a half smile at Dean, "I'm glad that's over." Sam muttered to Dean. Dean looked at him and was a bit glad his dad didn't ask any more about Cas.

            Sam motioned for Dean to lie down, and he did so. Sam gently applied the cold compress to Dean's side. Dean groaned in pain and did his best to get comfortable, and before he knew it, he was dreaming.


End file.
